Learning in Classrooms
"Opportunities to Learn in America's Elementary Classrooms." That attention-getting title headed an article in the March 30th issue of the prestigious journal Science. Reporting on a study of over 2500 classrooms in 1000 elementary schools, the article reported that children across the grades spent over 90% of their time in whole-group or individual seat work with minimal time spent in small group instruction. Overall, they concluded that "opportunities to learn ... proved highly variable and did not appear congruent with the high performance standards expected for students or for teachers as described in most state teacher certification and licensure documents."
How are we to interpret these less than ideal findings? The answer is "It depends."
For example, if you are viewing this from a national perspective, the information, though troubling, is invaluable. It is only by knowing the facts that it becomes possible to change them and offer children the situations they need if they are to fulfill their potential.
On the other hand, if you are viewing these findings from the point of view of a parent, you do not have the luxury of waiting the ten or twenty years it will take to bring about the necessary improvements. Your focus rightly is on providing your child with the best opportunities NOW.
This is the perspective that led me to create the Phonics Plus Five program. Reading is the key to school success and Phonics Plus Five has been designed to offer parents all the materials and techniques they need for their children to become superb readers. Further, the program capitalizes on the unique situation parents have of being able to offer the one-to-one interaction that is a rare commodity in any classroom. The combination of one-to-one teaching and well- designed materials is unbeatable.
